More families receiving access to high quality early childhood centers

A
federal Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership grant is helping Delaware build
upon the state’s record investments in high-quality early learning and
raise the quality of infant and toddler care for children in low-income
families. Delaware was one of only seven states to win the grant.

Governor Jack Markell today celebrated the first-year
progress of the pilot program funded by the grant with a visit to the Parents
and Children Together at Tech United Cerebral Palsy of Delaware (PACTT) child
care center at Sussex Technical High School in Georgetown. The state is
receiving more than $7 million over the five years of the grant.

Joined by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development
for the Administration of Children and Families Linda K. Smith, Governor
Markell said that the initiative exemplifies how Delaware and the Obama
Administration’s historic investments in early learning are being leveraged to
make immediate and lasting change in the lives of the state’s most vulnerable
children and their families.

“Research shows that 85 percent of a child’s brain is
fully developed by age three underscoring the impact stable, nurturing,
high-quality early learning has on toddlers and infants, including their
success in school and in life,” said Markell, who has worked with the
General Assembly to allocate significant additional resources to early learning
since 2012, including recommending $11.3 in his FY 2017 budget to continue the
state’s progress in raising the quality of early learning for its youngest
citizens. “I applaud the PACTT center and all the programs that have
voluntarily stepped up to meet higher standards of Delaware Stars and Early
Head Start to support young children and families.”

The Early Head Start-Child Care
partnership integrates the financial and program support of three programs –
Delaware Stars, federal Early Head Start, and Delaware’s Purchase of Care
program – to raise the quality of infant and toddler child care with more
stabilized funding and by paying for teacher education, while also providing
infant-toddler classroom materials and playground equipment.

In addition, the program provides wraparound health and
parent services for children in low-income families, such as developmental,
nutrition and dental assessments, referrals to services, home visits and help
accessing housing, food and job supports.

The pilot is supporting children from birth to age 3
years and their families, who are being served in 3-, 4- and 5-Star-rated
programs in target areas within City of Wilmington, Kent County and western
Sussex County, where the state’s quality early learning needs are greatest.
Delaware’s Departments of Education and Health and Social Services are
partnering to support the effort.

PACTT, a 5-Star program in Delaware Stars, is one of
seven early learning programs in all three counties participating in the Early
Head Start-Child Care Partnership pilot initiative across the state.

“I really do not know where to begin when asked about how
my program – but most importantly our children and families have benefitted by
being part of Delaware Stars and the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership,”
said Kathy Moore, PACTT administrator. “I’m so grateful and proud to be a part
of Stars and the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership, and I hope that with
this support our program and others across the state will continue to grow and
exhibit a high standard of early care and education for all children and
families.”

Delaware's
Progress on Providing Quality Early Learning Opportunities

Leading economists agree that high-quality early learning
helps level the playing field for children from lower-income families on
vocabulary and on social and emotional development, and brings significant
returns on investment to the public.

Over
the past five years, Delaware has made significant progress in raising the
quality of early learning by investing in increased professional development
for early learning staff, onsite support and classroom materials for early
learning programs, and developmental screenings and mental health consultants
to detect and address physical and mental health issues early. This effort has
led to:

​More
than 70 percent of low-income children receiving Purchase of Care now
served in highly rated Stars programs – up from just 5 percent in 2011.

More
than 120 programs receiving the highest rating of 5 Stars, up from
just 24 in 2012

More
than 200 teachers per year pursuing college degrees and certificates
thanks to the TEACH scholarship program

Since
2011, more than 20,000 children per year receiving developmental
screenings and more than 2,400 children receiving intensive Early
Childhood Mental Health Consultation services